The regret on our side is, they used to say years ago, we are reading about you in science class. Now they say, we are reading about you in history class.
Neil ArmstrongRead
I'm substantially concerned about the policy directions of the space agency. We have a situation in the U.S. where the White House and Congress are at odds over what the future direction should be. They're sort of playing a game and NASA is the shuttlecock that they're hitting back and forth.
Interpretation
Neil Armstrong expresses concern over the conflicting policies affecting NASA's future.
In this quote, Neil Armstrong highlights the troubling dynamics between the White House and Congress, depicting NASA caught in the middle of a political tug-of-war. He likens NASA to a shuttlecock, being tossed around by the competing interests of government leadership, suggesting that without a clear consensus, the agency's ability to progress is severely hampered.
In practice
Use this quote in a discussion about the importance of bipartisan support for scientific agencies.
The regret on our side is, they used to say years ago, we are reading about you in science class. Now they say, we are reading about you in history class.
Pilots take no special joy in walking: pilots like flying.
Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind.
I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine.
I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer.
This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
To me there never has been a higher source of honour or distinction than that connected with advances in science. I have not possessed enough of the eagle in my character to make a direct flight to the loftiest altitudes in the social world; and I certainly never endeavored to reach those heights by using the creeping powers of the reptile, who in ascending, generally chooses the dirtiest path, because it is the easiest.
Science without conscience is the death of the soul.
When I began in 1960, individuality wasn't an accepted thing to look for; it was about species-specific behaviour. But animal behaviour is not hard science. There's room for intuition.
My experiments proved that the radiation of uranium compounds can be measured with precision under determined conditions and that this radiation is an atomic property of the element of uranium.
It turns out your conscious mind - the part you think of as you - is really the smallest part of what’s happening in your brain, and usually the last one in line to find out any information.
Politicians, real-estate agents, used-car salesmen, and advertising copy-writers are expected to stretch facts in self-serving directions, but scientists who falsify their results are regarded by their peers as committing an inexcusable crime. Yet the sad fact is that the history of science swarms with cases of outright fakery and instances of scientists who unconsciously distorted their work by seeing it through lenses of passionately held beliefs.
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